What is a company's shares outstanding?

A company’s shares outstanding (or outstanding shares) are the total number of shares issued and actively held by stockholders—both outside investors and corporate insiders. However, they must be actual shares. A company may provide executives with stock options that can be converted to shares.

How does a publicly traded company influence the number of shares outstanding?

A publicly-traded company can directly influence how many shares it has outstanding. The company can increase or decrease the number of shares outstanding by issuing new shares or via share repurchases (buybacks).

What is the difference between outstanding shares and treasury shares?

Other differences between shares include the following. While outstanding shares of stock are those that can be purchased or sold on the secondary market, treasury shares are those that are held by the company and are not available in the open market. The total number of issued shares is the sum of the outstanding shares and the treasury shares.

Should you increase the number of outstanding shares?

Of course, merely increasing the number of outstanding shares is no guarantee of success; the company has to deliver consistent earnings growth as well. While outstanding shares are a determinant of a stock’s liquidity, the latter is largely dependent on its share float.